49ers OL Mike Iupati ruled out of NFC title game with ankle injury

San Francisco's starting left guard Mike Iupati will miss the rest of the NFC Championship Game after injuring his ankle in the second quarter.

This was Mike Iupati's (77) final play before leaving Sunday's game with an ankle injury. (Fox/NFL)

The 49ers scored the only touchdown of the first half in the NFC title game, but the score came at a cost. Starting left guard Mike Iupati injured his right ankle on the play and has been ruled out for the rest of the game.

Iupati got caught under a pile of players after 49ers running back Anthony Dixon scored on a 1-yard run. Iupati then limped off the field and went to the locker room for X-rays. The 49ers announced just before halftime that Iupati wouldn't be returning.

The left guard started in 12 games this season for San Francisco, but he did miss four games because of injury. Iupati's backup for those four games, Adam Snyder, will finish the game at left guard for the 49ers.

John Breech has been at CBS Sports since July 2011 and currently spends most of his time writing about the NFL. He's believed to be one of only three people in the world who thinks that Andy Dalton will...
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